LOS ANGELES – Rookie right-hander Bobby Miller has been checking off firsts at a rapid clip since making his big-league debut less than a month ago.
He checked off a couple more Saturday – first big-league home run allowed and first loss.
LaMonte Wade Jr.’s three-run homer was the big blow in a four-run fifth inning against Miller as the San Francisco Giants routed the Dodgers 15-0.
Miller hadn’t given up more than a run in any of his first four big-league starts and had kept the powerful lineups of the Braves, Yankees and Phillies in the park. But the Giants’ four-run fifth put an end to his 20-inning scoreless streak (and 27-inning homerless streak).
The rookie right-hander looked set to continue the magical start to his big-league career when he allowed just two hits through the first four innings against the Giants – one a ground ball that ricocheted off his back. But there were signs that his command wasn’t as sharp as it had been in his first four starts.
It got worse in the fifth. He walked Luis Matos to start the inning. Matos stole second and went to third on an errant pickoff attempt by Miller. The Dodgers brought the infield in and Brandon Crawford flared a single (57.5 mph off the bat) just over their heads and onto the outfield grass.
That snapped Miller’s scoreless innings streak and broke a scoreless tie in the game. It got worse.
Miller hit No. 9 hitter Casey Schmitt with a pitch then left a first-pitch curveball over the plate to Wade. He crushed it, sending it 399 feet into the back of the visiting bullpen.
Miller got out of the fifth but only after giving up a double to Thairo Estrada.
Another walk started the sixth inning. An infield single and another RBI single from Crawford followed to make it 5-0. When Miller’s pitch count reached 92, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts ended the rookie’s day.
Things didn’t get better from there. Alex Vesia came in and walked the first batter he faced, Wade, then gave up a first-pitch grand slam to J.D. Davis. Seven of the Giants’ runs were charged to Miller whose ERA went from 0.78 after his first four starts to a more mortal 2.83 now.
The Giants scored eight more runs against a Dodgers’ bullpen that has allowed 48 runs in 57 2/3 innings in June, showing no signs of shaking off its status as the team’s biggest problem.
One run allowed would have been too many on a day that saw the Dodgers’ offense get shut out for the first time since April and only the third time this season.
The Dodgers entered the game averaging six runs per game over their previous 27 and had been held under five runs just six times during that stretch. But a familiar face, Alex Wood, held them scoreless for five innings.
The Dodgers got just one baserunner as far as second with Wood on the mound. Michael Busch led off the third inning with a double and went no farther.
Reliever Tristan Beck completed the shutout, allowing just one hit after the sixth inning.
